Reincarnations
by TheWateringWizard
Summary: Hagoromo had been watching over the Elemental Nations, waiting for the One. How will a vision, and his ensuing meddling, change the future of the Elemental Nations ? How will it affect the future of our favourite blond ninja ? NaruXHina, rated M for future chapters. Strong Naruto, eventually God-like.
1. A Vision

Chapter 1: **A Vision**

 **Hey guys ! After discovering fanfiction nearly two years ago and the wonderful stories that came with it, I've finally decided to write my own ! Ever since I saw Naruto in Sage of the Six Paths Mode, I've been on love with this form. So once this little plot bunny popped into my head one day, I had to write it down.**

 **Now I'm really excited to write this story and share it with you guys but I must warn you that it will be NaruHina and that won't change at all ! The pairings of other characters, you can pitch your ideas but for Naruto and Hinata, it's set in stone ! So any NaruHina haters, don't waste your time here. As the summary says it's a strong Naruto story and a lot of people don't like OP stories. But I'll try to do like 'Legacy' from cr4zypt and have some entertaining fights without falling into the usual pitfalls of OP stories.**

 **While I'm really excited about this story, I want it to stay that way so I will not guarantee when further updates will come. I'm writing chapter 3 at the moment and I plan on getting a little ahead before posting a lot more. Maybe chapter 2 soon, depending on the reception. What I want to avoid is to be pressured into updating and delivering bad chapters or losing the original excitement. I'm currently working, I don't have a ton of free time.**

 **Without further ado, here's chapter 1 !**

'speech': thoughts

"speech": spoken words

"speech": jutsus

'speech': ninja sign language

 **speech** : Bijūs/Summons speaking or thinking

 _speech_ : flashback

The Crystal Peak was the tallest mountain in Kaminari no Kuni, actually it was the tallest peak in the whole Elemental Nations, culminating at eight thousand meters above sea level. It had gained it's name from the eternal snows covering the top of it that were visible during a sunny day and that sparkled like crystal. But while this place dominated over the rest of land around it, it contained a secret that no other human being past or present ever knew or even so much as surmised.

At the exact centre and base of this gigantic heap of earth was buried a cathedral-like cavern, with walls as smooth as glass and a small layer of water covering the ground. The entrance to this sanctuary had been re-sealed ages ago by the same man who had dug it in the first place. That man could be found levitating in a sitting position, above a circle of ten balls of the darkest black, so dark it seemed to absorb light itself. This person was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, known as the Sage of Six Paths, the man who had defeated and sealed the Ten-Tails with the help of his brother Hamura. Incorrectly hailed as a god by all, he none the less was here in his sanctuary, keeping watch over humanity in his spirit form, waiting for an heir or a reincarnation of his sons worthy of being acknowledged and helped by him. But he was growing tired and weary.

Humans had twisted and perverted his teachings of peace and inner discovery and used them to propagate war and hatred. They had sadly proven themselves to prefer blood and battles over understanding and acceptance. It hurt the Sage everyday to see the horrors mankind could come up with in it's race for power and dominance.

But the most painful truth for Hagoromo was the fact that he unwillingly had had a hand in the twisting of the Ninshū doctrine. He had witnessed his son Indra fall to the darkness and hatred after he had declared his second son Asura as his successor. The Revered Sage had stood by helpless as his first-born had grown bitter and hateful to the point of being the first human to weaponize chakra as he fought his brother. This conflict had been such a shock to him, it had hastened his demise and it was only on the brink of death that he had discovered the reason for Indra's sudden change in behaviour: it was the will of his mother who, even after her sealing, had somehow manifested as a dark shadow with an even darker heart and pulled Indra away from them.

So Hagoromo had managed to stay behind as a spirit, hoping to warn his family of the threat... But it had proven impossible. Probably Kami himself was preventing him from 'cheating' destiny. So the Sage had decided to bid his time until he found a opportunity to thwart the darkness without interfering with the Gods.

'But I've been waiting for millenniums,' thought Hagoromo, 'Hashirama Senju was the best candidate on my watch at the time and I was about to reveal myself to him but he gravely mistreated my children and for that I couldn't in good conscience go ahead. Maybe this is all fut-'

And before Hagoromo could finish his sentence, he received a vision that would change everything and the future of every inhabitant of this continent, present and future.

He saw a life of loneliness and hatred, of pain and suffering. He was a life of relentless dedication and hard-work. He saw a life of success and acceptance. He saw a life of death and strife. He saw victory over the most insidious enemy but at a terrible cost.

And when Hagoromo opened his eyes, he knew why he had stayed behind for so long. He knew who he was unknowingly waiting for. And he now knew what he had to do. For the first time in an eternity, he swore.

"Fuck, I better not be too late," was heard as his ethereal shape disappeared from the cavern.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

Minato looked over his village from atop the Hokage monument, his cloak billowing in the wind, taking in the sight that, until an hour ago, was that of a joyful and peaceful village filled with life. Until a few hours ago he was a happy father-to-be, married to the most wonderful lady. But this masked man had to ruin it all.

'Guess our happiness had lasted too long,' sighed Minato in his mind. After rescuing Kushina, his son that he had named Naruto and defeating the masked man who claimed to be Madara, the Fourth now had to deal with the poisoned gift left over by him. The Kyuubi stood out like a sore thumb amidst the low buildings of Konoha.

Minato was drawn out of his musings when the Kyuubi roared, sending dozens of ninjas flying and toppling over building before unleashing a Tailed Beast Ball in his direction. As the gigantic mass of black and purple chakra flew towards the stone figures, Minato drew a kunai out before letting it float in front of him as he began his jutsu.

"Hiraishin: Dorai," shouted Minato just as the ball reached the monument. It suddenly stopped moving and as ten lines of kanji erupted all around it, it slowly started being absorbed through the barrier that Minato had erected. Once it had fully disappeared, the silence created by the disappearance of the ball made the follow up explosion even louder.

The villagers and ninjas defending the village started cheering as their fear turned to joy and reverence for their esteemed leader as he had once more saved them. But the explosion and the flash of light seen in the distance quickly brought them back to reality and the threat still present within their village. They saw that the Kyuubi was moving away from them and towards another section of the village.

"Don't let it move too far ! Keep it away from the shelters !" shouted the Third Hokage who had donned his battle robes, despite his retirement, to defend his village.

The ninjas jumped as one towards the massive beast. It turned around and eyed the ninjas attacking him with hate before rearing up and charging another Tailed Beast Ball. But before the Kyuubi could go any further in his attack, a voice was heard above him.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu !" and a gigantic reddish, pipe-smoking toad wearing a blue happi with an equally huge tantō strapped to his side landed on the Kyuubi, pining him on the ground and dispelling his attack. Minato was on the head of the toad and as he concentrated his chakra for his next move he turned to Hiruzen and the assembled ninjas below.

"Hiruzen, I'm going to deal with the Kyuubi myself. I'm taking it to my safe house a little outside of Konoha. Secure the village and meet me there." shouted Minato

"Wait, Minato ! What are you planning to do wit-" started the Third before Minato vanished taking the beast with him and leaving him without answers.

Hastily, he turned to the ninjas with him. "Hiashi, Chōza, Inoichi with me. The rest, you go and help secure the village. See if you can find any injured ninja or civilian and if so bring them to the hospital".

"But Sandai-" tried to protest one of the ninja.

"Do as I say, that's an order !" barked Hiruzen, "With Minato we should be able to deal with the problem. You have your own mission." The ninjas finally relented when they received a serious-Hokage glare courtesy of their leader. Despite his age and retirement, he hadn't lost any of his stature and they were soon running full-speed towards the place the Sandaime knew Minato had taken the Kyuubi.

As they approached the remote location, they saw the barrier that had been raised around the place but more horrifying, they saw the Kyuubi launch himself towards what looked like a small shrine. They watched helpless as a smaller than before but still imposing Kyuubi pierced Minato and Kushina, who had jumped to protect whatever was on the shrine, with one of his claw. As Minato finished a jutsu, the hulking beast disappeared and Minato's lips started moving, the barrier raised around the place fell and the group was able to rush forward.

As Minato finished saying a few words to his son he'd never get to see grow up, he felt the barrier disappear and raised his head to look at the approaching group. To his shock, he saw an ethereal form float just beyond the edge of the nearby woods but it was gone the instant after, as if it had never been there in the first place.

He turned his head towards the small group of ninjas and smiled a bloody and tired smile to them.

"I'm sorry my friends but that was the only way I could think of to deal with the Kyuubi..." explained a tired and quickly fading Minato. He could feel that Kushina had already departed and he would soon leave this life too, only he knew he'd end in the stomach of the Shinigami.

"What did you do ?" asked Hiruzen.

"I took half of the Kyuubi's chakra in me, the Yin part and sealed the rest in my son, Naruto". At this moment Naruto decided to make himself heard as he could feel the death and sadness around him. He knew something was happening. The whole group stared at what they now saw as a baby laying in the little shrine. They were baffled that this little thing had been through so much despite being born only a few hours ago.

"But I had to use the Shiki Fūjin so I will be leaving this plane soon even without the injury." continued Minato, raising a weak and shaky hand and resting it on his son's head. He then turned his head towards the Hyūga Head.

"Hiashi, as your ex-teammate and friend, I ask you to watch out for my son, please. I know you won't be able to care for him personally as other clans would protest against this shift in power." spat out Minato, "It pains me so much so talk about my son this way, but while I want the inhabitants of the Leaf to view my son as a hero to celebrate for his sacrifice, I can't deceive myself to how they will actually view him... I'm so sorry my son, I hope you can one day forgive me." The last bit came out as a whisper, Minato's eyes were filled with tears at the thought of what his son's life will be like.

"Of course Minato, I'll do my best so that my people will know the sacrifice that is Naruto's life and how the village is protected through his presence alone ! He'll never find the door to the Hyūga compound closed, that's a promise !" affirmed Hiashi, the quivering voice of the usually stoic ninja filled with emotions.

"Minato, you know we won't be able to reveal the fact that he's your son-" started the Sandaime.

"Yes, yes I know. Sadly he won't be able to know about us until he's old enough and can defend himself. I have too many enemies that would seek him out just to fullfill some kind of revenge on me. But make sure to tell him about his burden, he will need to know !" After a little pause, Minato closed his eyes, "Goodbye my friends." before falling to the ground, motionless.

Hiashi picked up the small bundle that was Naruto while Chōza picked up Minato's body and Inoichi picked up Kushina. They would bring the bodies directly to the morgue to spare the other ninjas and civilians the sight of the gored body of their leader and to also throw off any early guesses at the baby Jinchūriki's parentage. Hiruzen, leaning against his summon Enma still in his staff form, felt a headache incoming as he thought about the uproar that Naruto's appearance will cause and having to deal with the aftermath of yet another catastrophe hitting Konoha.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

Hagoromo's spirit arrived on the border of a wood to the sight of a man and a woman getting skewered by a a claw belonging to his one of nine children.

He felts his spirits sag at this sight and at the idea that he had failed even before he could change anything that he had seen in his vision. It seems like fate was laughing at him, as he stood there watching the parents slowly bleed out as they leaned over a small shrine containing what he could feel was a little baby. But the most prominent feature he could practically see, hovering over the casket, was the ghostly spirit of his youngest son hanging over his reincarnation. It confirmed what he had seen in the vision.

Turning his gaze to the orange fox currently being restrained by a forest of chains. He felt despair for his child and the times he must've been through to contain so much hate. The Sage knew his children weren't perfect beings: they had been born from the division of the Ten-Tails, they each had their flaws and their virtues. But he had tried to mould Kurama to the best of his abilities as he had wanted him to be the 'big-brother' to his other siblings and not just in power. A big-brother to help them in case of troubles, be it personal or with the humans.

However Hagoromo was anything but foolish and when he had witnessed Indra's actions and the change within all the other 'ninjas', he knew they would soon turn their attentions towards the Bijuu. During his time in his cavern he had felt his children's presence come and go with time but he hadn't looked to much into it, focusing on more important matters.

Now seeing the hate roll off Kurama and the tiny baby at the tip of his claw, he came up with another plan to change the gloom future that he had seen. It would also allow him to visit the fox.

Hagoromo suddenly sensed something that surprised him even more, which was close to an achievement knowing the day he just had. He disappeared from the scene just as the blond Hokage looked up, his plans now in hold for the next few years.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

Somewhere else in Konoha, a blue-haired woman was hiding in a shelter, waiting for ninjas to come and tell the hundreds of civilians hiding with her that the threat was gone. As she caressed her heavily pregnant stomach, she swore she heard a faint "Hello brother..." echo from behind her but as she turned around she couldn't see anything. Her attention was quickly brought back to her belly as she felt the baby kick and she smiled.


	2. The Meeting

Chapter 2: **The Meeting**

 **Here we are a week later ! I'm so excited for you readers to discover chapter 2. I hope you like it, as it's a pretty important chapter for everything that will come afterwards. But first I want to thank everyone who took the time to read my story and the people who left a review, you guys are the best !**

 **Without further ado, here's chapter 2 !**

'speech': thoughts

"speech": spoken words

"speech": jutsus

'speech': ninja sign language

 **speech** : Bijūs/Summons speaking or thinking

speech: flashback

Hiruzen used the time he had bought himself after finishing his paperwork to gaze over the village that he was once again leading. It had been four years since the Kyūbi attack an event that was now celebrated as the 'Kyūbi Festival', an excuse to get drunk and forget the losses from that night under the pretended happiness of having defeated the monster. The mourning had been long and tearful. Unlike the war, that event had been unexpected and had affected civilians and ninjas alike but also their village. They had once again recovered emotionally and financially but some painful scars remained and brought the villagers' animosity up front everytime.

One of those scars was Naruto Uzumaki. The villagers had reacted exactly how he had predicted and the new-born baby had been immediately target my mournful villagers and ninjas trying to express their grief in any way possible. It saddened the 'Professor' that they couldn't understand the difference between the Kyūbi and it's Jinchūriki. But other threats had made themselves known on the day of the attack and it had surprised the Hokage. The meeting following the attack had been rocky for sure.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

 _Hiruzen and the shinobis accompanying him to the morgue had just dropped off the body of Minato and Kushina at the morgue and Hiruzen was now cradling the little Naruto in a blanket._

" _Could you warn the other members of the council that a full meeting will take place in half an hour ? We have a lot to discuss. I know it's not your job to do this usually but my ANBUs are being run ragged. Also be sure to warn any ninja you meet on your way, that the threat is gone and that they can unlock the shelters." said Hiruzen as he turned around to face the trio behind him._

 _They nodded their heads at him and were gone in a blur, leaving the aged Hokage to take care of Naruto and 'prepare' him for the upcoming meeting that would be crucial for his upbringing. He was also extremely for the well-being of his wife Biwako. Hiruzen knew that she was assisting Kushina deliver her baby, he was one of the few in the village, but hadn't heard anything from her, her assistant from the hospital nor the ANBUs, Viper, Pig and Sparrow, he had assigned to guard them just in case. He still held a sliver of hope but as time went on and on, so did his desire to stop everything he was doing and cry. He was too old to go through such events._

 _As he reached the tower, he stopped a Chūnin and asked him to find a baby crib for him. The Chūnin nodded and left on his errand after giving the bundle in his arms a glance. The ninja was back within ten minutes and the Sandaime let him continue his previous task after jotting down the name of the shop he had raided._

 _The Sandaime then moved into the council chamber and took his place with Naruto in the crib, thankfully still deep asleep ever since they had left the sealing grounds, next to him. As he kept an eye on Naruto he thought about everything he will have to go over and readied himself for the outburst._

 _Not even an hour later, the door opened and all the various members and their second filed in. A full meeting wasn't often declared, it was only in case of emergencies but when it was, clan heads usually came with their spouses as they were the ones sitting in for their husband in case he was unable to come._

 _He glanced at Hiashi and his wife Hitomi as they passed by him on their way to their seat and saw them nod his head at him. Hiruzen understood that Hiashi had explained everything that had transpired this night to his wife. He chuckled when he saw Hitomi stop by the crib and her expression softened while her hand simultaneously went to her belly, hidden beneath a large yukata, as she gazed at the little baby who's head already had a patch of golden blond hair surmounting it. She looked back up directly in his eyes and he nodded, confirming that this was indeed Naruto, the baby her husband had been talking about._

 _He also noticed the Ino-Shika-Chō trio and their wives glance at him to convey the fact that they were all up to date on tonight. Hiruzen wasn't surprised by this fact but instead was glad that they had done so, he needed as many rational people tonight to discuss the immediate future of the village._

 _He also noticed a tear-stricken Tsume Inuzuka take her place and his heart constricted at the sight. He had known her husband pretty well, as he was a top Jōnin of the village. Seeing her alone, it wasn't hard to guess that Tatsuki had been a casualty of the fighting._

 _The Aburame clan took their place on Tsume's left, as stoic as usual while the Kurama clan lead by Unkai and his son Gerō sat on her right. Fugaku and Mikoto were on the extreme right of the shinobi council._

 _Glancing around he saw his three advisors take their place. He knew even before seeing their expression, that they, along with the civilian council, would be the ones raising the biggest fuss and the hardest ones to calm down._

 _Once everyone stopped moving, the Sandaime steeled himself and sat up in his seat._

" _Fellow Konoha citizens, I brought you all tonight to give you an update on the situation tonight now that the Kyūbi has been dealt with. It ha-"_

" _Excuse me Sandaime-sama but where is the Yondaime ?", interrupted a civilian. Hiruzen bridged his hands in front of his nose and took a deep breath._

" _I will say this once, I won't tolerate any more interruptions. Listen until the end and you'll know everything about tonight and we'll be able to move onto finding solutions," the whole room fell silent. "I'm sad to say that the Yondaime perished during the attack," if the room was silent before that, now it seemed positively frozen in time, the different with various expressions of shock on their faces, "He died sealing the beast inside an orphan called Naruto Uzumaki."_

 _After this declaration the room exploded in shouting and arguing. As expected a lot people called for the baby's death whether from fear or to fulfil a stupid sense of vengeance. It quieted down when Danzō stood to speak._

" _Hiruzen, I believe it would be wise to leave the baby in my care in order for me to train this new weapon to the best of his abilities. Under my guidance, we could have a major advantage over the other villages. Maybe one day we'd be able to reign supreme if we're able to use the Kyūbi Jinchūriki trained from infancy to have complete control over the beast." This statement was met by an uproar from the shinobi side and some praises from the civilians. The ninjas instantly glared at the other side to shut them up, disgusted that they would even consider this option. Hiruzen felt fury swell inside of him towards his old comrade._

" _First it's Hokage-sama to you and second Naruto is NOT a weapon! He's a citizen of Konoha like all of you and deserves to be treated as such. Minato's last wish was for Naruto to be seen as a hero for containing the Kyūbi. Anyway Danzō, I don't see how you could train Naruto as your ROOT operations are supposed to have been dismantled years ago. Anything you want to tell me ?" questioned Hiruzen. Danzō became stone-faced once more and sat down._

" _Of course not Hokage-sama." replied the bandaged ninja._

" _Any more questions before we move on ?" asked Hiruzen as he looked around the room. And hell broke loose again._

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

In the end Sarutobi had decided to place Naruto in the orphanage. He had shot down a proposition from Fugaku to take the child in and raise him. Same thing for Hiashi. The old man wanted nothing more than to place Naruto in Hiashi and Hitomi's care as he knew, Naruto would possibly have the best childhood one could have. But the big dent in his plan was that a Jinchūriki part of one of the clan of Konoha would create too much of an imbalance with the others and could lead to bigger problems. And as he had told Hiashi afterwards, he was more than a little wary of the elders of his clan. Hiashi grudgingly agreed with him, the old bastards were already causing him enough troubles, he didn't even want to imagine what convoluted plans they'd hatch to increase the prestige of their clan in Konoha. They also wouldn't miss the opportunity to lord it over Fugaku and his clan, and that was the last thing he needed.

Since the attack, many accusations had been thrown around, a vast majority being nothing but wasted air while a few managed to stick around long enough for people to think twice about them. The result had been an increasing distrust in the Uchiha and their possible involvement in the attack. Hiruzen was baffled as to how such a rumour had begun in the first place and he despaired, wondering if Minato had had any info about the attack. The remains of Biwako, her assistant and his missing ANBUs had been found soon after the attack and Hiruzen knew Minato had clues about what had went wrong but he unfortunately hadn't shared it with him before he had died, leaving him with only vague suppositions to calm the population down.

Naruto had also been the target of the majority of the village's ire so much that Hiashi had pleaded him to assign someone to protect the baby. Hiruzen had accepted and dispatched Ent, Cat and Owl to periodically keep watch over the baby while he was at the orphanage.

Despite the Law he had passed concerning Naruto, his status and his welfare, it didn't stop people from treating as badly as they could while he grew up, all the while staying within the law. Naruto had recently been kicked out of the orphanage, Hiruzen knew that much thanks to Tenzō and he wondered how Naruto was doing at the moment.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

Unbeknownst to the Sandaime Naruto was feeling really good at the moment. He had been wandering around the forest that was within the boundary of Konoha and would probably stay there until the sun started to go down behind the Hokage monument. He really liked the forest. It never treated him badly, never glared at him and never stopped him from spending time in it. It was usually a calm place and Naruto felt at peace here, away from the mean people who seemed to hate him for some reason. He didn't understand their problem, he had never done anything that would justify such intense dislike from the adults and no one was ever willing to tell him what the problem was, they always skirted away from him or told him to 'die' or 'disappear'. It made him really sad, he just wanted to be like the other kids who had parents who hugged them when they were hurt, who brought them ice-cream at the end of the day, who were there when they went to bed to wish them a goodnight. Sometimes Naruto felt like he could die or disappear and no one would notice and in the event that someone did notice, they would probably not care if not outright celebrate. Those feelings had intensified ever since he had been kicked out of the orphanage two months ago.

He had lived at the orphanage ever since he could remember, the earliest memory he had of the place was the person taking care of him and he remembered she was a really nice lady unlike the rest of the staff, especially the big lady who was always shouting and ordering the people around. He remembered that one day she hadn't come and instead another woman had and she always did the bare minimum and then left him alone until the next time she had to come. That was how he had met his first two friends. He was wandering around when he had stumbled upon two other boys playing a game and after watching them for a little bit he had asked if he could join them. The one with black hair had looked at the other one with grey hair, which Naruto found really strange, who had nodded at him. Naruto had been overjoyed and had quickly learned that the grey haired one was called Utaru and the black haired one Kiseki. And ever since that day they had been best friends. So much that even the mean people at the orphanage had stopped trying to separate the three of them. They spent as much time as possible together and they even brought him stuff to eat when the people 'forgot' about him.

But all this had changed shortly after he had turned 4. In November, some weird people had come from the outside to talk with the head of the orphanage. They seemed to be made of clay as Naruto and his friends had been watching them and during the whole meeting with the fat lady, only their mouth moved but the rest of their face seemed frozen. After they had left, the trio had gone back to their activities which was often Kiseki, scribbling things, figures on some pieces of paper while Utaru played a string game with Naruto that Utaru had called 'Cat's Cradle'. The day had ended badly as Naruto had had an argument with his friends.

The next day when he went to apologise, they had disappeared. Naruto had cried a lot that day as he thought they had left because of him. He had realised a little later that they were not the only ones to have disappeared but he still he felt terrible because he wanted to apologise but he couldn't. Not even a month after Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage with no explanations. He really thought he was gonna die in the streets, it was really cold and he just had a light t-shirt and some pants on before getting kicked out but a man had suddenly appeared and had taken him to the Hokage! That man was really nice but he had a mask on and said that his name was Ent which had made Naruto laugh a lot because he thought the man was being silly. But apparently he was really serious so Naruto had become suspicious. They had arrived at the Hokage's office and Naruto had been scared. Even if he didn't know a lot, he knew that the Hokage was really powerful so Naruto didn't want to make him angry. The old man had simply looked at them in surprise before asking:

"Ent what happened ? Why did you bring Naruto-kun with you ? Not that I'm unhappy but..." leaving the statement in mid air because of his surprise. The first part really surprised Naruto, so much that he couldn't stop himself.

"What ?! He's really called Ent ? Are you sure Jiji because I find this really weird!" blurted out Naruto, cutting off any reply the masked man was going to make. Both adults turned towards him before the Hokage exploded in laughter. The masked man then took off said mask and looked Naruto in the eye. The little boy was a little scared upon seeing the man's face because of his big round eyes that seemed life-less. But it became even worse when the man's face became shadowed, highlighting parts of it for a really creepy effect.

"My name is really Ent."drawled the man. It scared Naruto so much, he couldn't nod his head fast enough. This sent the old man, who had stopped laughing to watch the two interact, in another round of laughter. Naruto started backing away until Ent also started laughing. It relieved the blond boy to see that he could laugh.

"Naruto-kun come here, I want to talk with you," asked the Hokage. He motioned for the boy to come closer then picked him off the ground and sat him in his lap. "Now tell me how you are doing and why did they kick you out of the orphanage. Oh and you can call Ent, Yamato if it feels more natural to you but I'm sorry to say that his real name is a secret, it could put him in danger if I told you."

"Yay that's better Jiji, I certainly don't want to put him in danger, he's nice." exclaimed Naruto."Well the people at the orphanage aren't really nice but I had two friends and they were so cool but they disappeared recently and I can't say I'm sorry after what I said..." Naruto continued to explain his adventures with his friends, waving his arms wildly while doing so but at the mention of the disappearance, Hiruzen looked up to Tenzō and signed 'Danzō ?'. Tenzō simply shrugged in return.

Once Naruto was done with his tale, Hiruzen put him down, stood up and took his hand in his before speaking,

"Well Naruto-kun I don't see you going back to the orphanage in the future so I'm gonna show you the apartment I had set apart for you when you were a little older than that but I might as well give it to you now."

"Wow an apartment for me ?! Thank you Jiji!" shouted Naruto. He started bouncing on his feet at the idea until another thought came to his mind,

"But Jiji, how am I gonna eat and everything ? I'm only 4" worriedly asked Naruto.

"Don't worry, I have thought about that and I have someone who will live with you and she'll be there for such things." replied Hiruzen.

Just as the Hokage finished saying that, the door swung open and in came a woman with the most violet hair Naruto had ever seen! She wore the same outfit as the man he now knew as Yamato, tight black pants and sandals, a long sleeved black shirt and a grey flack vest. But her attitude seemed much warmer and open and when Naruto looked at her face, he saw a warm smile directed towards him. He knew that she was a really nice lady and that it will be really cool to live with her. Maybe he'd get a hug like the other kids.

"Naruto, that's Yūgao-chan, she'll be living with you for the foreseeable future. You behave and be nice with her, like I know you are and I'm sure you'll get along very well." the Sandaime's voice cut through Naruto's observation of Yūgao. He looked at the three adults and he couldn't help smiling at all those nice peoples.

And they indeed gotten along very well. While she was a ninja and sometimes had to leave to for her duties and was rarely here during the day, to Naruto it still felt like he had a family and she was his mum. She cooked for him (she was really good at cooking!), they often played games and she also taught him to read and write! She had been shopping with him when his clothes were too small or worn out and had even introduced him to ramen and ramen heaven: Ichiraku.

Naruto had instantly loved ramen and the owners of Ichiraku were always so nice to him, he had, for a while, constantly begged Yūgao to go eat ramen at Ichiraku for every meal. She had made him understand that he needed a balanced diet and after that Naruto realised that despite her cheerful and outgoing personality, she could also be very scary if she wanted. But even after two months of living in the apartment, Naruto cherished every moment with her. Sometimes Yamato would drop by and it made Naruto laugh a lot because it was clear that Yamato wasn't used to dealing with kids and he made a sharp contrast with Yūgao.

A sudden shiver cut Naruto from his trip through memories and he realised that the sun was nearly set and he was still in the forest. Yūgao had been very strict on how she felt about being late. When Naruto had asked why she felt so strongly about it, she had simply grumbled something about silver-haired annoyances. As Naruto ran back to their apartment, he couldn't help but feel like something really important was about to happen, he could feel it in the air and it made his hair rise.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

Naruto was dreaming, well he assumed he was dreaming as he knew he had gone to bed after the story Yūgao had read to him, but it was a weird dream. It had started out as teapots dancing around him all the while shooting steam in the air when suddenly it had all changed to a big cavern with water on the floor.

Naruto looked around around and noticed a man not far from him. He made his way towards him, still awed at the place he found himself in. When he realised that the man was floating, his jaw dropped and he couldn't wait to ask that mysterious man how he did that, amongst other things. When he was only a meter or two away from him, the man spoke, slowly opening his eyes to look at Naruto.

"Hello Naruto-kun, I've been waiting to meet you for quite some time now. My name is Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, but I'm sure you have many more questions". As Naruto was close to him now, he noticed his eyes, the staff he was holding, the designs on his cloak and the black balls that were also levitating under.

"Wow your staff is so cool! What's up with your eyes ? I've never seen some like that! Kaa-san doesn't have the lines yours have. Those balls, can I have some too, how do they float ? And how can you float ? Can you teach me ? What's this place were in ? Am I dreaming or did you kidnap me ? Are you a Kappa ? I hope you didn't kidnap me, because kaa-san will be very angry and you don't want her angry at you. She'll take her sword and chop you in little pieces." Hagoromo chuckled at the flow of words that were pouring out of Naruto's mouth. He raised a hand and Naruto stopped speaking immediately.

"Calm down child. To answer your questions, you aren't dreaming but this isn't your real body either so no, I didn't kidnap you and I'm no demon. I brought you to this plane to bestow a gift upon you. My eyes are what ninjas decided to call the Rinnegan. These are Truth-Seeking Balls and yes you'll have some one day if you can activate them after I give you the gift and yes you'll be able to float too. Now place the palm of your hand on mine" said Hagoromo as he extended his hand towards Naruto.

Naruto took a step forward and did as he was asked. The moment their hands touched, Naruto's body suddenly felt extremely warm and his vision became encompassed in a bright yellow light. When it stopped, Naruto started checking his body to see if anything had happened to it but saw nothing different. He looked down in the water and one more saw nothing different with his face. He was about to speak up when he saw a round mark in the palm of his hand.

"What did you do to me ?" asked Naruto, bewildered as to what exactly had just happened.

"What I did, is that I gave you my Yang Chakra," upon seeing Naruto's blank look, he elaborated, "I gave you my physical energy and everything that comes with it. You are my son's, Asura, reincarnation and would have received the gift I just gave you anyway but a decade later at least. Only I had a vision a few years that showed me it would be a better idea for you and the rest of the world to be given these powers before. With my Yang Chakra comes the Sun of the Six Paths that is represented by this mark you have in your hand. You'll have an innate grasp of the nature of chakra and the ability to use all five basic nature transformations, the ability to fly and to manifest the same black balls as me. And finally, you will have an innate ability to use Six Paths Senjutsu. Now I won't tell you what everything is and does as you wont remember our meeting when you wake up, you'll just have the sun mark, but mainly because it will be your task to unlock those powers and to understand what they can do."

After a pause, Naruto stared at his hands in awe. He hadn't understood half of what the very old man in front of him had said but he knew he was absolutely awesome now!

"So I will be able to be an awesome ninja like Yugao-kaa-san, Yamato-sensei and Jiji ?!" asked Naruto as he looked back up to Hagoromo.

"Naruto-kun, I know you will become a great ninja, I have seen it." said the sage. "But the road will not be easy and you will have to work hard to achieve your goals. Always protect your precious people, without them you are nothing and in return they will protect you and make sure you don't lose yourself on your way."

"You can count on it Super Jiji! I'll be an awesome ninja who will be able to protect all his precious people, that's my nindo, -ttebayo!" shouted Naruto. The sage smiled, knowing his time with the blond hyperactive boy was practically over but happy with what he had achieved.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that Naruto-kun. I'm sorry to say that I must go, our time together was short but I'm glad I met you. Now it's time for you to rejoin your body and move on with your life." declared Hagoromo.

"Already ?! But we just started talking! I hope I can see you again some day." pouted Naruto.

"Who knows young one, who knows..." joked Hagoromo as Naruto disappeared from their meeting place.

Hagoromo sighed, happy with the task he had just performed and reassured about the future. But he wasn't done for tonight. He too disappeared from this place, as he headed towards his next destination.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

Kurama was laying down in his cage, having lost count of how many times he had ranted against that Uchiha prick named Madara, that tree-loving Hashirama and the yellow bastard Namikaze, his only pleasure at this point in his life.

He only wanted to be left alone and live the life his father had intended for him. But those dreadful humans simply couldn't understand that and they only saw him as a thing to use as they willed. But while Kurama wasn't subdued that easily, it still was a pain in his arse to have to regularly move around and fight off waves of screaming little flesh-bags. He simply wanted to eradicate a clan or two once in a while, maybe a whole city if the corruption had spread too far. Someone had to do the job at some point! It wasn't his fault if humans were greedy little punks who were so easily ready to back stab each other in their mad quest for power!

But the end of his 'liberty' had come with the worst of all the flesh-bags that roamed these lands, Uchiha Madara. Madara was indeed a very powerful ninja, Kurama couldn't deny. But his arrogance was through the roof and with the help of that blasted Sharingan, he had used him as a cushion to take the damage dealt by the wood-wielding Hokage. When Kurama had finally stopped being a spectator within his own 'body', he had quickly been sealed away inside some red-haired lady. He hadn't seen the light of day for years, until he was one again sealed inside another red-haired girl, who once again didn't even bother to come and visit. He was a being with feelings after all, he would've loved to have some to discuss with on occasion. Kurama chuckled at that thought.

' **Well I would've loved to have someone to verbally abuse and maybe tear to shreds, if I'm honest. Those humans need to learn that you can't keep me behind a cage for decades like some little puppy and expect nothing in return**.'

A few years ago he thought his salvation had finally come when he felt that his current host, who had been pregnant for nearly a year, had started to give birth. At some point the seal had broken and he felt himself slip out of his tenant only to come snout to face with another blasted Sharingan! Once the Sharingan user's hold on him had slipped he only wanted find that last prick and turn him to ashes for daring to use that red-eye he despised. He knew that man wasn't Madara but he was an Uchiha and that would be good enough for him.

Fate however wasn't on his side and he had only finished sealed in another disgusting flesh-bag. To had insult to the injury, that one was a little baby and Namikaze had taken half of his being! Kurama's only joy had been to push his claw through the blond man and his old tenant.

Finally done with his rant and happy to have expressed for maybe the thousand time, his feelings on his situation, he was about to go back to his sleep when a presence he hadn't felt in thousands of years appeared in the darkness just beyond his cage. The feeling it brought made the mighty Bijū jump up and yelp in surprise. As the figure came into view, Kurama was openly gaping.

" **Tou-san ?! What are you doing here ? Are you here for me ?** " asked a bewildered Kurama. The Sage looked at the place he was in before laying his gaze on the mighty fox. He looked visibly saddened.

"Sorry Kurama-kun but there's nothing I can physically do about your situation," sighed Hagoromo, which brought only more questions to Kurama's mind, "but I brought good news with me that you need to hear. You know that I never intended for my children to live lives just as what you must've been through, to end up in such a place."

" **You have no idea tou-san, these humans are disgusting selfish cockroaches that would deserve to be exterminated till the last one. They think that I'm the incarnation of hate and anger, *pff* they haven't seen themselves! There's nothing more spiteful than shinobis.** " spat out Kurama.

"My son, I ask you to put your trust in humans once more, the human you are currently sealed in. He's the reincarnation of Asura. He's meant to do great things." stated Hagoromo.

" **THE REINCARNATION OF ASURA ?! No way!** " spluttered out the fox

"Yes, he is I assure you," laughed Hagoromo, "I have had a vision and I know that he will be special. You'll probably realise that by yourself at some point or another but I ask you to take a leap of faith like I have done and trust him in full whenever you first meet him. It will only prove beneficial for the world as whole in the long run."

" **Wait tou-san, you said you took a leap of faith, what did you do ? Was it your doing that warm rush earlier ?** " asked the Kyūbi.

"Indeed," responded Hagoromo, "I gave him my Yang chakra and everything that comes with it, exactly what Asura-kun had. He would gotten them in the end but it will greatly help him if he grows into them with time. Anyway, I must leave my son. Take good care of yourself and your host."

" **Farewell tou-san,** " was Kurama's reply as the Sage's form faded from view, " **well now we wait until we finally meet dear host. I sincerely hope father is right about you, if you are even an inkling like Asura it could be worth being sealed into you.** "

And with that, the fox laid back down already placing bets as to how long he'd have to wait to meet his tenant.

When Naruto woke up that morning, he instinctively looked down at his hand and saw a dark brown sun-shaped mark in the palm of his hand. For some reason he couldn't remember, he wasn't surprised. Instead he smiled but decided to keep it hidden as long as possible from kaa-san and Yamato. They were the closest persons he had in his life along with Teuchi and Ayame but he knew that it would be really complicated to explain.

And with that last thought, he went on as usual with his day.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

A week later, Naruto was sitting on a swing, in the forest where he always went. He was very happy that Yamato-sensei had such cool ninja powers, as he had been the one to reshape the tree he was sitting under before setting up a swing for Naruto. He had said that it was a little gift for Naruto, as he always spent so much time in this forest and he had wanted to add something else for Naruto to do.

The truth was that even if there had been no swings, ever since the day he had woken up to find the mark in his hand, he loved the nature, the forest, its inhabitants and the calm feeling it all brought even more than before. He sometimes felt like the nature was about to speak to him. It always made him chuckle, he wondered if he wasn't going crazy. But whether it was sunny, raining or snowing, it never bothered him. The sun wasn't burning his skin, he didn't feel the coldness of the rain and even appreciated feeling his soaked clothes stick to his skin, as drops of rain raced down his face (that had earned him a few earfuls from Yūgao, scared that he'd get really sick) and since a couple of days, didn't feel the searing bite of the snow either. He still wore the appropriate clothes, Yūgao wouldn't let him leave otherwise, as today he had a jacket to keep him warm but knee-long shorts. He also wore a beautiful red scarf and some goggles, that he wore proudly on his forehead, his surrogate mother had found for him.

But his peace was disturbed when he heard shouting coming from behind his place. He turned around to witness three boys, at least a head taller than him, standing around a little girl who seemed around his age, saying mean things to her.

"What are you doing here you white-eyed freak ?" shouted one of the boys.

"Yeah, we don't want you monsters around here, go back to your compound full of prissy assholes!" added the second one.

"But before you leave, you're gonna have to apologise for annoying us, you Byakugan monster!" viciously added the third one, all the while hitting his palm with his fist.

When the girl fell to her knees crying, Naruto couldn't take it anymore. His anger at seeing this girl bullied by THREE older boys, triggered something inside him. As if a switch had been flicked, his vision suddenly felt brighter and clearer, he felt warmer as if he was wrapped inside his blanket. He could feel some new energy pumping into him and it seemed like nature was singing all around him. He had this strange sensation where he could feel and see some bright blue flames exactly where the bullies and the girl were and he knew that it was them. The girl's flame felt so bright, as if calling to him. Briefly awed at whatever was happening, he looked down to see the sun mark glow brightly in his palm. But his attention was quickly drawn back up upon hearing the girl's cries. His face twisted in a scowl and he bent his knees, ready to charge at the three bullies, his scarf, unknowingly stuck in the strings of his swing.

"Hey what do you three think you're doing calling this girl a monster! You're just big bullies, why not fight someone your size ?" yelled Naruto.

This effectively stopped what was happening as all four people turned to look at the source of the shouts. When they caught sight of the blond-haired boy, the three kids started laughing while Hinata activated her Byakugan and gasped in wonder at what she saw.

"Hahahaha, you're supposed to be the one who stops us ?! Haha you are even more pathetic than that girl!" laughed the biggest of the bullies.

Naruto suddenly charged with all of his new-found energy, ripping his trapped scarf in the process. To an untrained eye, it seemed as if Naruto had simply disappeared and reappeared in front of the first boy. Unfortunately for his victim, Naruto couldn't stop in time and barrelled into the boy, sending him flying into the one behind him, effectively knocking them both out cold. Naruto stared, awed at his awesomeness. Only a fist to the face, brought him back to the current moment. But to his surprise, once more, he felt nothing from the hit. The third boy stood slack-jaw while holding his aching first, staring at Naruto.

"What are you ?!" suddenly shouted the bully. Naruto only looked at him before closing the gap and punching square in the face, knocking the leader of the trio out cold into the snow. Naruto couldn't help but pump his arm in the air, shouting "That was awesome! It'll teach you not to bully girls!"

Hinata had been staring at the blond boy ever since he had first shouted and she couldn't stop. He had the warmest chakra she had ever seen and at the moment, it had a warm golden colour that seemed to draw her in. He had charged so fast at the boys attacking her, knocking two out by simply running into them. And he didn't even have a scratch! She had been startledwhen the last one had punched him in the face while he was distracted, fearing he would be hurt and defenceless but the blond boy had surprised her once more and hadn't even flinched when hit. She was relieved and smiled when he had cheered into the air before turning to her.

Naruto quickly stopped celebrating when he remembered the girl he was defending from the three ex-bullies was right behind him. He turned around and when they locked eyes, the world around them seemed to stop. His gaze was locked with hers, looking straight into eyes that he thought resembled the moon but with a faint lavender sheen to them. He loved her eyes instantly and couldn't stop the heavy blush that crept all over his face. He didn't know why he was feeling so hot and as the energy that had been flowing in him left, he heard himself say,

"Hey I'm Uzumaki Naruto, what's your name ?"

Hinata was also in a daze ever since she had locked eyes with him. His golden eyes had a cross-shaped pupil and they seemed to pierce right through her but she had never felt safer, especially since the death of her mum. Her Byakugan receded at the same time as whatever dōjutsu he had went away, only for her to get lost in now-ocean blue eyes. As she transformed into a tomato, she heard herself reply to him,

"I'm Hyūga Hinata, thank you for helping me."

Their little moment came to an end when she saw his torn scarf and the rest of it hanging limply from the swing that stood a few meters away from their place.

"Oh no you've ruined your scarf because of me! I'm sorry, I'll do anything to help you get a new one! I'm so sorry!" said Hinata, embarrassed that his clothing had been damaged because she couldn't defend herself against the boys.

"Hey don't worry, kaa-san will probably be a little angry but if it happened because I was defending you, I'm sure it will be okay! I couldn't let those mean guys treat you like that and make you cry, I'm sure you're not a monster or a freak!" half-shouted Naruto, who had his arms behind his head.

Hinata blushed bright red once more and started moving towards the swing to gather the rest of the scarf because she had an idea regarding what to do with it, Naruto following her.

"No matter what I'll fix it or make you a new one to replace it" she declared.

Right as she had finished gathering the last strands, Kō landed a few feet away from them.

"Hinata-sama I finally found you! You can't suddenly disappear like that, your father will have a fit thinking something bad happened to you!" exclaimed the breathless ninja. Kō took a moment to look around and saw Hinata and Naruto and three apparently knocked out older boys not far from them.

"What happened Hinata-sama ? Who are these boys and the one standing next to you ?" he added.

"Don't worry Kō-san, that's my friend Naruto and he defended me against those boys that were being mean with me" she hastily said, not wanting Kō to get the wrong impression of Naruto. Said boy briefly looked at her, smiling.

"Yeah I'm Uzumaki Naruto and those bullies were making Hinata cry so I stopped them!" he enthusiastically declared.

Of course Kō knew who was Naruto, he had watched over him from time to time as an assignment from the Sandaime Hokage. Kō didn't have any ill-feelings towards the boy, Hiashi-sama had told him everything about him and if Hiashi-sama had no problems with the boy and believed in his ex-teammate's capacities so did he. He had also seen him grow up at the orphanage and was secretly quite fond of the boy. Knowing he had just met and saved Hinata from the older boys made him very happy as he knew that Hiashi-sama would be thrilled that her daughter had finally met Minato's son. And seeing how she was blushing when he arrived, would make Hiashi-sama even happier. Kō briefly wondered how Naruto had defeated the three, obviously taller and bigger, boys but dismissed the thought, as it wasn't the time to think about that.

"Well Naruto-san, I'm grateful you were able to help Hinata-sama but we must now go back to our compound. We wish you a good day." said the ninja.

"Sure no problem K-" started Naruto when his eyes suddenly rolled in the back of his head and he fell limp to the ground.

"Naruto!" screamed Hinata as she dropped to her knees next to him, "Naruto wake up! What's wrong ?" Kō was beside her immediately and put his hand on his forehead, his Byakugan blazing into life.

"Calm down Hinata-sama, he's simply passed out and it seems like he has chakra exhaustion" said Kō in his business voice, "we'll take him and the other kids to the hospital."

Hinata sighed in relief, scared that something bad had happened to her first real friend. Together they set off, Kō having made two clones who carried the three other boys, with Hinata constantly hovering around him as he was carrying Naruto.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

The young Hyūga heiress was sitting next to Naruto's hospital bed. She had remained behind when Kō had left all the boys in the doctors' care, hoping that he would awaken soon despite what the doctor who had treated Naruto had told her about chakra exhaustion.

So she just sat there, staring at him and thinking about their meeting in the woods and what the elders would probably say about what had transpired. She was grateful she had met Naruto, he seemed so lively and full of life, it was an incredible change from her clan, the ever-stoic Hyūgas and their sacrosanct superiority. While at her compound she always had to 'behave properly' and show no emotions. She hated that. She had a baby sister and she couldn't behave naturally with the cute little baby. But Naruto seemed like the exact opposite and she wanted to know more about him.

After some time she felt the envy to be bold so she looked around, making sure no one, before she leaned in and traced her fingers along one of his cheek. She wanted to know if his whiskers-like mark were real or not. She was quite surprised to feel that there was some thin ridges she could feel all along his whiskers. Suddenly Naruto moved in his sleep and Hinata jumped back in her seat with an 'eep', redder than a tomato. The blond boy soon stopped moving but Hinata stayed still, embarrassed at what she had dared do and afraid Naruto would wake up and make fun of her.

 **A pretty long chapter as I simply couldn't cut it in half at any point. It may seem obvious but I still want to point it out, I took some liberties with canon, especially regarding their age. I've also dropped some little hints, let's see who finds them.**


	3. Elders and Foxes

Chapter 3: **Elders and Foxes**

 **Hello dear readers ! It's been a long time but life got in the way and I wasn't able to write much of chapter 4 so I chose to delay chapter 3 as much as possible to avoid using all my reserve. Now I will repeat this in case some of you are upset: I don't have a fixed plan for update dates and I don't plan on sticking to one. I recently came back from my winter job and I'm with my friends again, I'm able to play video games again so while my enthusiasm for this story hasn't diminished one bit, I'll be writing at the pace I want.**

 **I also want to thank everyone who read the story, who added it to their follow list (we crossed the one hundred bar, yeah !) and their favourite list. I also want to mentally shake hands with the people who left reviews, you guys are the best ! I really appreciate it and I encourage everyone who reads this to do the same, it means a lot to me. Well that's the first and last time I'll ever ask for reviews, I'll put my trust in you guys.**

 **Without further ado, here's chapter 3 !**

'speech': thoughts

"speech": spoken words

"speech": jutsus

'speech': ninja sign language

 **speech** : Bijūs/Summons speaking or thinking

 _speech_ : flashback

Hiashi was lost in his thoughts as he looked at his daughter who was sitting a few feet away from him on a cushion. Yesterday had been a mix of emotions. Hinata had seemingly disappeared once again and while Hiashi knew perfectly well what her daughter was up to, he hoped that the elders never learned of her escapades as they were quick to blame and rage against her, always trying to diminish her, unknowingly being the reason she often left the compound for some time. But it was Kō who had brought him good news, breaking him of his melancholy. She had met Naruto and they were apparently now friends. The Hyūga had also whispered another detail about their encounter that had made Hiashi smile. He knew Minato's son would achieve great things, like his father and had hoped that his daughter would be friends with him.

Ever since the death of Hitomi, Hinata had had a hard time dealing with the everyday life in the clan. As a clan heiress, she had started her training at the age of 3, once she was able to read and write correctly but still too young to start any ninja training. At that point, Hitomi had started to teach her daughter in the customs of the clan and the etiquette to uphold during formal events. Hiashi had sometimes assisted to the lessons and everytime he felt like his love and pride for his wife grew as he witnessed her interactions with their daughter.

He remembered the day his wonderful wife dropped the pregnancy news after a bout of sickness that had ended in the hospital. He thought that day that he was about to burst with the happiness he was feeling. Only upon seeing the elders' reaction, had his mood been dampened. Afterwards he kept his wife close to him as much as possible or dispatched some of the most talented and trustful Hyūgas he could rely on as he had no more allies on the elder council, having lost his father during the decade since he had succeeded him. Hitoshi had become an elder shortly after his retirement and because Hiashi had a lot of duties to fulfil and couldn't be everywhere, the 'Anti-Hiashi' elders had sunk their teeth into him and slowly brainwashed him to stand against his own son.

Hinata was born on the 27th of December, a little more than two months after the death of his friend and the unexplained attack from the Kyūbi. She had brightened their world, distracting them from grieving for Minato and Kushina's, who had been Hitomi's closest friend, death. The moment she opened her eyes, Hiashi realised from the faint lavender sheen held in them that she was destined to be special. They had spent 4 wonderful years as a family, when he had learned that Hitomi was expecting once more. He had hoped for a boy, as he knew that if he was to have another daughter she'd have to be branded, until he was told it was a girl. Hitomi had convinced that they could delay the branding until Hinata was inducted as Clan Head and hope they could find a solution before that happened.

But fate had struck in the most horrible way and Hitomi had died in childbirth leaving a heart-broken Hiashi and Hinata. He had spent weeks, alternating between tears and rage within the confine of his study. His hate for the elders had skyrocketed during that time, as Hiashi was convinced that they had something to do with her death. She had delivered Hinata without any problems and Hanabi was no different, if a little smaller ! There was no way her death had been natural ! Unfortunately he had no proof and he couldn't launch random accusations especially to the elders who could use it against him. He couldn't help but feel like he was letting Hitomi down by not discovering the truth behind her passing away

After a month of a sleep-work-eat-work-sleep routine, Hiashi had realised that he had also let his daughter down. While Hanabi had been in the care of a trusted Hyūga, he had forgotten about Hinata. He learned that the elders had continued her training, even starting basic Jūken training, despite her recent loss and used her grief and distraction against her, doing their absolute best to hurt her emotionally and physically. Upon realising that, he had immediately put an end to her training with the elders and taken over it himself despite his position as Clan Head. There had been weak protests, coming mostly from the elders abusing his daughter but Hiashi had shut them up quickly.

However Hinata had been in a terrible state. Once in the privacy of his office to supposedly discuss her progress, he had asked her to take her shirt off, worried that about her health after the treatment she had received from the elders and had seen her upper body covered in bruises. He had broken down in tears while hugging his daughter, devastated that he had been careless enough to let that happen to his precious darling. He had apologised over and over, telling her he was sorry and that he loved her, hoping she wouldn't hold it against him. Hinata had finally unleashed all her pent up emotions from the last month as her little arms went around his back, her frame shaking with the strength of her sobs. Once she had calmed down, they had talked about Hitomi, Hiashi doing his best to answer her innocent questions. He had asked her in return what had happened during the last month. She had told him how the elders were extremely severe with her and punished her for the smallest infraction, from showing emotion to letting her mind wander in the middle of an exercise. But she couldn't help it, she wanted to cry so much ! Nonetheless they relentlessly drilled her in the basic exercises of the Jūken alongside her custom and etiquette lessons. Hinata told her father how she hated the lessons, the elders were nothing like her mum and she couldn't muster the required concentration.

At night, she would go to bed exhausted but couldn't get a good night of sleep as she was plagued with nightmares and would often wake up crying. In the morning she was emotionally spent even before her lessons started. Upon talking about her nightmares, Hinata started crying again and Hiashi had reassured her that he would be proud of her no matter what she did. She had eventually fallen asleep on him and he had shortly followed. The hard conversation they just had, had been the beginning of their healing. The next day, Hiashi had talked to Hiruzen and asked that Kō be released from ANBU duties as he needed him to keep company and watch over Hinata. Whenever he couldn't keep his daughter within his sight he wanted to know that she had his most trusted clansman keeping her safe, until she could defend herself. In addition he had restarted her training himself and it gave them many great bonding moments and he often had baby Hanabi and her caretaker assist at their lessons.

Unfortunately for Hiashi he couldn't control everything and despite Kō's presence, the elders continued to torment Hinata and it often got too much for the young girl. She had taken to leaving the compound for a few hours, in order to get away from the hateful atmosphere. It was Kō who had informed him the first time it happened and while Hiashi wasn't against her actions, he and Kō still had to reprimand her in due form.

The Clan Head was drawn out of his reminiscence by one of the elder sitting next to him.

"Hyūga Hinata you are here before this council to answer about the events that took place yesterday on the border of training ground 2 that involved you, the sons of council man Maboshi, Tohiro Detō, a respectable academy student and Naruto Uzumaki," declared Hitoshi. It had several effects Hiashi, the first being surprise and suspicion ! He wasn't expecting this meeting to be about Hinata's encounter with the three bullies, more along the line of her training. How could the elders know about that ? The declaration also made Hiashi internally seethe in anger as no one could misunderstand the disgust dripping from Hitoshi's voice upon saying Naruto's name. He wanted to jump up and slap his father across the face for disrespecting Minato's son, except that he was one of the few people who knew the truth. So he bid his time, disgusted that this meeting was nothing more than a show. He was ready to bet on what would happen and be said next.

"I was outside playing in the snow. And those three boys came up to me and started saying I was a freak and a monster. But after that Naruto shouted at them to stop and they didn't want so he attacked them and he won." Hinata stopped after that not willing to say more the end of her meeting with Naruto. She was also pretty intimidated by the elders and had to physically restrain herself from twiddling her fingers in front of her, which would've been heavily frowned upon by the already frowning elders. There was a moment of silence before the elder on Hitoshi's right spoke up.

"Walking outside by yourself ? Do you realise how reckless such a behaviour is ? Especially after last year's events ! That incident was already embarrassing enough for our clan, now you go ahead and get into a fight with three boys and you need help to get out of. It's disgraceful for a Hyūga to need help in a fight. What if some Uchiha had seen you or learned about it !" Hiashi turned his head to glance at the elder who had just spoke, fury welling up in him. He had seen Kō, who was standing by the door slightly tremble in what he assumed was rage.

"Should I assume that in your zeal to care for our clan's standing and integrity, you carefully forgot that my daughter didn't start any fight and was instead harassed by those three boys who also happen to be to twice as old as Hinata if not more ?" ground out Hiashi. The elder sat there his mouth flapping uselessly, unable to come up with any counter-arguments.

"I will also add that my daughter has only recently begun her training in the art of the Jūken Style and therefore cannot be expected to defend herself. It is why," forestalling any interjections, "I have assigned Kō-san as her bodyguard whenever she ventures outside the compound's walls, until she can face any potential threats. He is there in case my daughter runs into trouble that she can't resolve herself." Hiashi took pleasure in seeing Kō squirm ever so slightly as they were both aware that if Naruto hadn't been there, the situation could've gotten out of hand.

"Well even if she's protected by Kō-san, she can't be seen in the presence of that person !" spluttered a third elder before turning back to Hinata, "Hinata-sama, we forbid you from interacting with one Uzumaki Naruto". Hinata's head immediately flew up and her protest were quick to be heard.

"What ? But you can't do that ! He's the one who saved me and he's really nice ! Naruto did nothing wrong !" shouted Hinata, angry that the elders would try to prevent her from seeing her friend. She wouldn't let them have their way. Her face morphed into a frown as her eyes narrowed at the elders and her arms crossed themselves in front of her, in a attitude that screamed defiance. Before it could escalate any further, Hiashi cut through the debate.

"Elder Totaka you forget yourself ! I'm the Clan Head and Hinata is my daughter, therefore I'm the only one who will decide who she can spend time with. Uzumaki Naruto also happens to be a young man who has done nothing wrong for the moment, quite the opposite seeing how he bravely fought off three boys tormenting my daughter. Despite his "condition", I see no reason, for the moment, to stop Hinata from seeing Uzumaki-san. Now let's end this waste of time, I have a lesson to start with my daughter." declared Hiashi, as he rose from his seat and headed towards the door.

Instantly Hinata and Kō were behind him and after manoeuvring through the large compound, they arrived at his study. After closing the door Hiashi turned to Hinata.

"Don't worry Hinata, I stand by what I said. You will be able to see your friend again." he assured her.

"Thank you Tou-san !" exclaimed Hinata, hugging her father, "but is Naruto sick ? You said he had a condition." Upon hearing the question, Hiashi felt uncomfortable. He trusted Minato's sealing abilities of course and was sure that they wouldn't have any problems with the Nine-Tails, Naruto and the beast were separate beings and he wanted to tell Hinata Naruto's status as a Jinchūriki to prevent anyone from using that information against her. But the Sandaime had been clear on this point, therefore his hands were tied.

"I'm sorry Hinata, I can't tell you right now, hopefully some day. But I can assure you that it's nothing dangerous. Now let's start today's lesson. If you work well, we'll go visit Naruto at the hospital, maybe he'll be awake. If not, you'll stay here until dinner." warned Hiashi, "Kō you are free to go for the day, I'll stay with Hinata until 6p.m"

As said-ninja left the room and Hinata hurriedly gathered her supplies, the Hyūga Clan Head prayed that if he ever met Minato again he'd be able to look him in the eyes, despite his failure regarding Naruto.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

All he could see was blackness. Naruto was floating aimlessly in the middle of a black, empty void. After what seemed like an eternity, he felt an increasingly strong pull from behind his navel. He suddenly landed in a flooded corridor, with rusty, leaky pipes running over his head and away in the darkness. As Naruto stood up, he had a strange feeling of déjà-vu. After a few seconds were nothing jumped at him and no one appeared to bestow some divine favour on him, he decided to move on and explore the area. Why was he in that dank sewer when he clearly remembered that a few moments ago he had helped Hinata against the three boys ?

After a series of twists and turns, Naruto finally stumbled in a very wide room. The tall cream-coloured walls enclosing the room had a few torches stuck on them and Naruto could still see the pipes he had been following running on the now-distant ceiling. As he looked around the room, the torches came to life and Naruto was surprised to see a huge gate with a piece of paper in the middle. He closed the distance, hoping to find out what was behind the steel bars. A slitted red eye suddenly opened, freezing Naruto in his tracks.

" **Well what a surprise, my jailer. I wasn't expecting to see you so soon !** " said a deep, rumbling voice. Even though the red eye was a little scary, Naruto was determined to find out more about this place he was in.

"Hey you're the first person I've met since I arrived in this place, do you know where we are ? Why were you expecting me ?" exclaimed the blond boy. Out of the darkness beyond the bars, the red-eye rose and became a towering orange fox. Naruto suddenly thought that the red eye was a lot less intimidating when it belonged to a fox, especially when said fox seemed so fluffy ! Kurama looked down at the grinning face of his 4 year old Jinchūriki.

" **Of course I know where we are as I've been sealed inside you for the last 4 years. We are in your mindscape.** " said the fox.

"You're sealed inside me ? But how ? Who did that ? Does it hurt ? Man, it sucks to be stuck in this mindscape thing if it's always full of water and rusty pipes ! Actually why are you here ?" questions poured out of Naruto's mouth after Kurama's declaration. He was finally interrupted by the rumbling coming from the mighty beast's torso, indicating he was laughing.

" **Aren't you a curious little thing... First of all I am the Kyūbi no Yōko and you are what is known as a Jinchūriki, in this case my Jinchūriki. How is long and complicated story that you are too young to grasp. As to who, it was the Yondaime Hokage who sealed me inside of you and aside from my pride, it didn't hurt. I appear in this derelict mindscape because it is where my consciousness resides, your mindscape being in such a state because you don't take care of it.** " explained Kurama. Naruto frowned at the fox before moving closer to the cage, stopping a feet shy of entering the cage.

"Are you really the Kyūbi ? Because you're supposed to be this extremely bloodthirsty and ferocious beast, at least that's what the villagers keep saying. They also say that you were killed by the Yondaime !" exclaimed Naruto. The fox scoffed at the little kid's unintended jibe before replying.

" **Well obviously they were wrong. You can't kill us Bijū, we are not alive in the same way as you humans are. You seem to take the news of me being sealed inside you unexpectedly well, especially knowing how Konoha feels about me.** "

"Ah... I'm not sure I understand everything actually but basically you're inside my stomach because you attacked the village right ?" said Naruto sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head, "It's because of you that the people at the orphanage and the villagers hate me. But why did the Yondaime choose me ?" That last question left Kurama a little uneasy. Of course he knew who were the kid's parents but should he tell him ? In the end he decided against it as Naruto was too young and it would only cause more problems to know the truth.

" **Unfortunately the villagers are blinded by their grief and anger and blame you for my actions even though you are innocent and only a new-born baby at the time. It's because of that last fact that the Yondaime chose you as my jailer and also because you are an Uzumaki.** " said Kurama. Since Naruto had arrived, the Bijū could feel the trace of Asura within Naruto and the positive energy that radiated off the boy. He was ready to follow his father's advice if Naruto passed one more test.

"Because I'm an Uzumaki ? What does it have to do with it ?" asked Naruto, confused.

" **Well you have a special chakra that makes you really good containers of Bijū. You're not the first Uzumaki to be my jailer actually. I used to live a relatively recluse life, only interacting with humans to eradicate corruption, be it from a clan or a whole city. It was my job, the one Father had given me. But humans are greedy and thirsty for power and in the end they started desiring mine for their own use. It was that bastard Madara, the leader of the Uchiha who finally took away my freedom through his actions. He used me to fight against the founder of Konoha and when the battle was over, I was deemed too dangerous and sealed away in the Shodaime's wife, an Uzumaki, like some vulgar kunai. When she died, I was transferred into another female Uzumaki. For decades, I was left alone. The confinement ended when I felt myself slip out of the seal, only to face another Uchiha who immediately put me under his control to use me as a simple tool of death and destruction. He must've been beaten because at some point his control faded away. But it was too late as the village was already up in arms against me and I ended sealed inside you, courtesy of the Namikaze.** " Kurama paused to let Naruto process all the informations he had dropped on him, " **Now you know my story.** " sighed the fox.

Naruto was gobsmacked as he processed the Kyūbi's story. It wasn't what he expected, hell he wasn't even expecting the fox to tell him anything at all !

"But... But that means you're also innocent, like me ! You were sealed for no reason at all, it's horrible ! It's that Uchiha's fault but I'm not surprised they're all like that. I saw some Uchihas one day and they're all bad people !" vehemently exclaimed the boy, "Is there anything I can do to get you out of that seal ?"

" **As much as I hate to say it, I'm better off in the seal. You could release me and live to tell the tale but you'd end up in the hospital for quite some time. The problem is that while that Uchiha who made me attack Konoha is still alive, I would never be safe outside the seal. Therefore I have decide to help you. But I have a few conditions.** " said the fox.

"Euh ok, tell me and if it's nothing too bad, I'd love to be your partner !" enthusiastically replied Naruto. Kurama chuckled as he realised Hagoromo had once again been right. That boy was definitely something special and it was without any doubts that Kurama told Naruto his conditions.

" **I want you to personally kill the Uchiha that made me attack Konoha as no one should dare manipulate us Bijū. I also want you to kill Uchiha Madara if you ever encounter him. I'm sure he didn't die at the Valley of the End. And lastly, I ask that you set me free before you die and to make sure I'm never resealed again.** "

Naruto had paled a little when the fox had talked bout killing people. Sure he wanted to be a ninja and knew that he would have to kill people but he usually didn't think about that too much. But if it was to make sure Kyūbi could be free without any risks, then he would do it !

"That's okay with me, I just hope I don't meet these people too soon... But if by killing them you can be free again than I'll do it -ttebayo !" shouted Naruto, "I'll make sure people know you aren't evil like they say you are, Kyūbi-san." Kurama chuckled slightly at the simplistic thought process of the boy. If only it was as easy as he made it sound...

" **Call me Kurama, that's my name. Now to make things a little more practical, tear off the two bottom corners of that seal.** "

Naruto nodded and moved underneath the seal. He was trying to figure out how to reach the seal when he felt his feet leave the ground. Surprised he looked below him and saw a red vortex lifting him up to the seal. Once he was face-to-face with the sheet of paper, on which was simply written 'Seal', he took a hold of the left bottom corner and tore it off. He repeated the process with the right corner before descending back to the ground.

" **Thank you, from now on we'll be able to talk without having to bring you in your mindscape. It has also increased my awareness of the exterior. Now before you leave, don't tell anyone about our encounter and the changes to the seal.** " explained Kurama.

"But don't the villagers need to know that you're not a bloodthirsty monster ?" questioned Naruto, confused about this need for secrecy.

" **Think for a second, if you walked up to anyone in the village and told them that you had met the Kyūbi, that he was actually a rather nice chap and you could talk with him, what would be there reactions ?** " Naruto visibly deflated upon realising the hole in his plan, " **Don't worry, everything will happen in due time. Simply remember this important lesson, deception is a shinobi's best weapon.** " argued the Bijū, " **Now go.** "

"Ok thanks Kurama ! I'll talk to you later !" waved Naruto as he left his mindscape.

NHxNHxNHxNHxNH

Naruto opened his eyes to a completely white ceiling. A powerful odour of disinfectant and thoroughly cleaned floors immediately filled his senses, reminding him of this day of the week at the orphanage during which they couldn't set foot inside for a few hours and the ladies cleaned the building in it's entirety. They were usually allowed back in in time for the 4 o'clock snack, while he was sometimes "forgotten" outside. He looked around and realised he was in a hospital bed. He sat up startled as he remembered his dream and his meeting with the fox. As he was debating on whether of not his dream was real, a deep voice rang in his head.

' **I can sense that you are full of doubts. We did have a conversation in your mindscape, it wasn't a dream, if that's what you're thinking about.** "

"Wow Kyūbi-san, you really inside my belly ! And I can hear you in my head !" exclaimed Naruto.

' **Shut up you idiot ! Don't say this kind of things aloud, I can perfectly understand if you simply think what you want to say. You really need to learn to be more discreet, people mustn't know about our connection, they aren't ready and wouldn't understand. I reiterate what I said before: Don't tell anyone about me !** ' growled Kurama. True, his host was a 4 years old kid and it was expected of him to act this way but he had to get his point across or the repercussions could be terrible for him and the blond.

'Hehe, sorry Kyūbi-san, don't worry I'll do my best and no one will know about you !' replied the blond who was nonetheless rubbing his the back of his head in embarrassment.

' **And I told you my name is Kurama, so you better use it. I hate being called by my tails, makes me feel like nothing more than a beast.** ' snarled Kurama. Naruto nodded his head and Kurama couldn't stop the facepalm.

Naruto laid back down as he thought about his encounter with the Kyūbi or rather Kurama as he had said. He was a mix of emotions, glad to know why he seemed to be hated by the vast majority of Konoha, angry at the fox as he was the cause of such treatment and resentful against the Yondaime because he was the one who had put this burden on him, probably not aware of the consequences for him. However out of all the emotions he was feeling, he knew that his anger at the fox was the most irrational. Kurama had explained to him what had happened and Naruto knew the fox would never approached Konoha if it had not been for some Uchihas. But it was hard to let go of his anger. Naruto came out of his musings when he heard the door open and saw Yūgao come in followed by a nurse.

"Kaa-san !" exclaimed Naruto, as Yūgao closed the distance between the door and the bed and squeezed the life out of Naruto.

"You're finally awake, don't you ever scare me like that again !" said Yūgao, relief clear in her voice. She let go and sat down on a chair beside the bed, as Naruto looked on in confusion.

"What do you mean finally awake ? I helped Hinata just a little while ago !" asked Naruto.

"Hinata ? So that's the little Hyūga girl's name... She came here quite often. But to answer your question, you've been unconscious for three days. Yamato arrived at the apartment one evening, telling me that you were at the hospital with chakra exhaustion. You recovered from that pretty quickly but you wouldn't wake up. The doctors were pretty baffled, first from your recovery and second when you wouldn't regain consciousness." Yūgao was interrupted by the nurse.

"Excuse-me but it would be preferable if you let me examine the patient to determine if he can be discharged before I allow for a longer conversation. You'd certainly appreciate having this discussion at your home rather than here." Yūgao got up to give room for the nurse. Five minutes later, she had signed the discharge form and the nurse had left. It was Naruto who spoke up first.

"I've been here for three days ?! How is Hinata ? Hey kaa-san, you know she was being bullied by those three boys and I beat them up because they were calling her mean names and they made her cry. I don't see what's wrong with her eyes anyway," Naruto blushed upon saying that as the memory of them staring at each other came back to his mind before his face light up with a smile, "I hope I'll see her again, she's really nice and she said she'd fix my scarf as I damaged it." Yūgao smiled upon seeing the myriad of expressions that flashed across his face.

"Hinata-chan is doing good, that's what her bodyguard told me. I often saw her around your room, you must've made a pretty good impression on her," Yūgao laughed when Naruto blushed again, "I'm glad you defended her the way you did, Kō-san told me what he saw upon arriving near you and I'm proud of you. Although you shouldn't worry, I'm sure you'll see her again, as she's your age and she'll eventually attend the Academy. Now let's get you dressed and back home."

On the way back, Naruto begged Yūgao to go eat at Ichiraku but she had been intransigent, wanting to spend a calm evening and have time to listen to Naruto's tale of the events that lead to his hospital stay. Of course Yūgao knew exactly what had happened, having met up with Kō after learning of the incident. She was aware that they both had watched over Naruto when he was at the orphanage but was surprised to discover that he was Hinata's bodyguard since she was 3 years old. That hadn't stopped them from laughing over the two kid's behaviours. Kō had informed her of Hiashi's sentiment over the two meeting which didn't surprise her much, knowing the friendship that had existed between the Hokage and the Clan Head.

As Naruto laid in bed, he wondered if he could feel again what he had felt when the boys had made Hinata cry and whether or not he'd be able to see Hinata tomorrow. Naruto hoped she'd want to play with him.

'Hey Kurama, do you think you know what I did to see all those colours and feel that strong when I was by the swing ?' asked Naruto, hoping the fox had some answers for him.

' **I think I know what happened but we'll see tomorrow. Now sleep, like I was doing before you spoke.** ' grumbled the Bijū.

'Yay thanks, I'm sure it's something awesome !' shouted Naruto.


End file.
